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Well, here we are. We have had the first read through of Uncle Vanya and Zombies, the play is absolutely gory, the actors are great and are able to keep the humor alive amidst all of the fake blood.

Working on this play, grasping how big the show is and will be has led us to this moment, the night when all of the actors get together and we heard a play come to life, or dead..whichever you prefer. It was a great night. There are so many people in this show from all over the university and the community. Nothing like zombies to bring people together.

So, you might ask: what is this blog for? The larger website is a place where I can store information about the show. It is also a place for you, the audience, to search around and learn about Chekhov and zombies. But, this blog is for the actors, set designers, and director to post their thoughts about the process and the show itself. So, please stay tuned for actor insight into the crazy world of Uncle Vanya and Zombies!

September 6, 2012 Yining Lin, Production Dramaturge

Costume and Make up presentation tonight. All of the secrets that you, dear audience, won’t be able to know about until you see the show, but let’s just say that it’s going to be AMAZINGLY gory and so much fun! The excitement in this room is pretty palpable, which can only mean that our cast is pretty excited.

One word: crazy! Or, epic. either one, you choose

September 17, 2012 Yining Lin Production Dramaturge

Rehearsal Pics! Videos to come soon…hopefully.

Look below for the slide of pictures.

October 18, 2012 Yining Lin, Production Dramaturge

From Slate.com. Gotta prepare yourself for that zombie invasion.

October 25, 2012 Yining Lin, Production Dramaturge

Two more weeks until tech! We have finally moved from the Multi-Purpose Building to Kennedy Mainstage. We have a set, rehearsal costume pieces and props, and our special events are under way. From now until we open, I’ll be posting more pictures so that you can see our show grow.

Have fun!

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November 1, 2012 Yining Lin, Production Dramaturge

Over the past week, I’ve been asked this question: “why zombies? How come zombies have become SO popular?” It’s a good question, one I haven’t been able to really wrap my head around until this past week with the constant streaming of election and political news. For me, zombies always had strong political ties. Their origin is based in religion, specifically Haitian Voodoo and West Africa Vodun, but the way we conceive zombies now is really based in the current political issues of the day. The answer for why zombies are popular is never a simple “because they’re awesome!” Well, for the majority of young people out there, zombies are just plain cool without any idea for why zombies are actually indicative of the times we live in, whether it be to assert White dominance over African Americans in 1930’s America, or to protest the Vietnam War in the 1960’s, or to highlight the US’s obsession with material objects, zombies have always played a major role in bringing these concerns to life. Now, in the 2010’s, we have zombies that highlight our fears of a terrorist attack, of a slowly dying economy and what could possibly happen to the United States if it were to collapse.

Since 9/11, we’ve seen protests about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, screenwriters walk outs (might not have been in the same league as the protests about the wars, but it sure was hard on us college students who were sick of reruns), and the more recent Occupy Wall Street movements that swept the entire nation and brought some of the biggest cities on to brink of chaos. The Occupy Wall Street movement, which encapsulated the protests of the 99% against the 1% ignited a whole new meaning to zombies. In an article in the New York Times, economist Paul Krugman expanded on the idea of “Zombie Economics”, meaning that our current economy is constantly dying and disintegrating before us, and yet we have politicians who are content to just let it keep trudging along.